


in his tub

by glitch_writes



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Bad Flirting, M/M, Rated T for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-18 18:24:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitch_writes/pseuds/glitch_writes
Summary: He’s handsome, incredibly so, with a wicked smile that never fails to send Chikara’s heart racing.He’s a myth incarnate, a mermaid who rescued Chikara on a stormy night at sea one year ago, just like the fairytales.He’s also clueless. And covered in glitter.“So, you…” Chikara begins, folding his arms on the tub’s edge to rest his chin, “made it to my apartment… somehow… then you broke the lock, stole my bath bomb… and you don’t remember any of it?”





	in his tub

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nana_banane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nana_banane/gifts).



The man in Chikara's tub is a great many things. 

He’s lively, laughing loud enough for two even as he struggles to keep his eyes open. He’s loyal, a dependable friend that would burst through any barriers without hesitation, ‘impossible’ be damned. He’s generous, would give what little he has without a second thought to someone in need. He’s handsome, incredibly so, with a wicked smile that never fails to send Chikara’s heart racing.

He’s a myth incarnate, a mermaid who rescued Chikara on a stormy night at sea one year ago, just like the fairytales. 

He’s also clueless. And covered in glitter. 

“So, you…” Chikara begins, folding his arms on the tub’s edge to rest his chin, “made it to my apartment… somehow… then you broke the lock, stole my bathbomb… and you don’t remember any of it?” 

When Chikara had read stories about mermaids as a child, he imagined simple tails - scaled, greenish in color and iridescent, punctuated with a split fin. 

According to Ryuu, he wasn’t entirely wrong - that was just one kind of many, but Ryuu’s wasn’t one of them. Ryuu's tail is like a shark's, gray scales that shine smooth like silk. He has a fin below his spine, too, albeit a small one. It's enough, at least, to force him to lay in the tub at an angle, his tail draped over the edge near Chikara’s elbow. “Not one bit! Damn, hell of a drink Noya gave me.” 

“Was it the drink, or the quantity?” 

“Let’s call it a draw and say ‘both’,” Ryuu yawns.

Chikara shakes his head, amused. “You truly have no idea how you got here? I’m a few blocks away from the beach...”

“All I know is that I wanted to see ya-” Ryuu cringes at his own words, “-and that I'm not exactly in a position to run away after blurting something embarrassing.”

Chikara huffed a laugh. “You're covered in gold glitter. Shame should be the least of your problems.” He dips a fingertip into the tub, twirling it languidly, spreading ripples of gold across the water’s horizon. “I wanted to see you, too.”

It’s easy - enticing, even - to be affectionate when he knows how Ryuu will react: trying so hard to play it cool, to shrug it off, but he fails, stuttering his sentences and blushing up to his ears. “Ha, it’s- Yeah, um-” Ryuu interrupts himself with a nervous yet still genuine laugh, “I look damn good in this glitter, so hmph.” He fakes a pout, the shy twist to his grin lingering. “If glitter’s so shameful - which it’s totally not - then why’d you have this glitter egg thing?” 

“It’s called a ‘bathbomb’. My friend Suga-san gave it to me.” 

“Well, tell Suga-san to get more. It looks good on me.” 

He considers agreeing with Ryuu - the gold suits his complexion, though Chikara’s sure his bias would believe anything would great on him - but he decides against it, if only because he’s certain he’ll compliment Ryuu plenty enough throughout the night, and he doesn’t need Ryuu to combust from bashfulness too soon. “Will do,” he says instead. 

The water around his finger is lukewarm at best, he realizes absently, making a mental note to refill the tub once it drains another inch or so. But there’s something more pressing on his mind, something he’s always wondered but hadn’t had the courage to ask before. Not that he’s any more courageous now, though, but instead he’s… comfortable. Nervous, still, but his companion helps him forget that. “Um… Can I… touch your tail?”

“S-sure! Yeah, uh,” Ryuu gives a small laugh, scratching the back of his neck, “yeah! Go for it.” 

Chikara tilts his head to rest on one arm, reaching out to the part of the tail draped over the tub, and- “It’s… smooth?”

Ryuu blinks. “Yeah? Why do you sound confused?”

“I just thought… I read that sharks’ skin was like sandpaper.” More specifically, he read people futilely arguing with a troll, but he refused to ever explain internet culture to Ryuu for a Wikipedia’s worth of reasons. 

“Oh, right. My family’s tails just look like that. We think it’s cause if it was really like that, it would be hard to find, uh… you know.”

Chikara smirks. “Hard to find what?”

“M-mates- Hey, why are you laughing?!”

“You’re scared to say it, like a little kid.” 

Ryuu splashes Chikara, laughing, though barely a few drops hit their target. “You’re doing this on purpose! Meanie!” 

“You make it so easy.” Chikara runs his palm over the tail again. It reminds him more of a snake than a fish, silky and not slimy. “Do you mind me touching it?” 

“Nah. It’s all good,” Ryuu replies, red to his ears again. “But you gotta let me touch your feet!”

“Huh?!”

“Gotta make it even!”

“But they’re just… ugly hands?”

“Don’t care! Lemme touch the ugly hands!” 

Chikara snorts, leaning back on his hands. “Okay, okay.” It’s karma after all, he realizes as he feels his own cheeks burn, even if Ryuu’s not aware of it; there’s just something embarrassing about pulling off a sock, rolling up his pant leg, and draping a leg over the tub for someone else to play with his foot. 

“Ooh, you’re right! It  _ is _ an ugly hand!” Ryuu grabs his ankle, turning the foot gentle to inspect the different sides. “What’s with these weird fingers? Do you use them for anything?”

“They’re called ‘toes’. And… Hm. I forget if they really have a use. We usually keep them covered. I know some people can’t even move the small one separately.”

“Can you?” Ryuu’s thumb brushes over his ankle, and it’s a silly thing to get butterflies over, but the unintentional tenderness isn’t something Chikara would have expected. 

“Mhm.” Chikara wiggles his pinky. 

“They’re kinda cute,” Ryuu says with a little giggle. 

“Some people paint the nails. And wear toe rings.”

“Oooh, you should do that, Chikara! That would be so cute!” 

“I’ll consider it,” he says, despite already mentally adding it to his to-do list for tomorrow. He could imagine the conversation if anyone ever saw him without socks -  _ ‘I spent all this money on a pedicure and toe jewelry to impress the fish-man that broke my lock.’ _ Maybe he’d get something gold, he considered; for paint, he could try-

Ryuu interrupts his thoughts with a splash - a good one this time, covering him in lukewarm, glitter water. “Oops!” he says with a devious grin. “You’re all wet! Guess you gotta take off your shirt-” 

“Or maybe I should climb in the tub, if I’m wet anyway,” Chikara hums, delighting in Ryuu’s sputtering. 

“We- But- There’s-” Ryuu chokes. 

Chikara smirks. “If you don’t want me to…” 

Ryuu shifts over. There’s hardly any space for another person, and yet, it’s a grand invitation. 

Despite his own provocation, Chikara’s surprised - but he doesn’t hesitate. Fully clothed, he steps in, carefully laying beside - or rather, half on top - of Ryuu, draping a leg over his tail. “Is this okay?” he says, much lower than he had expected of himself, hardly a whisper. 

“Y-yeah,” Ryuu half-whispers back, snaking one arm between Chikara’s back and the tub and wrapping the other arm over Chikara’s side. “This okay?”

Chikara wraps his arm over Ryuu’s side, too, and sighs, resting his head on Ryuu’s shoulder. “Yeah.” 

**Author's Note:**

> For Nana!! Thank you so so much for voting!! 
> 
> For those that don't know, I'm giving free Haikyuu fics to any US citizen who proves they voted in the midterms! [Just submit or message me a picture of your "I voted" sticker, or some other proof, along with a ship (romantic or platonic) and prompt of your choice.](https://glitch-writes.tumblr.com/submit/) *Do **NOT** take a picture of your ballot, or any other personal information!!* I won't post the picture, I just want to see proof. Thank you for voting, your voice matters!!


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